The Michigan Daily Edite -ind rnanaged by Students at the , University of Michigan<.i .:..:... TI sday, August 3, 1976 ui FP , A dews Phone: 764-0552 Remenher: Vote today. THE DAILY UPOES the voters to take time out and particip.t e in todav' primary election. This year. tbo primary will afford voters the oppor- tunity to cast bln s in several races - races that have an effect on boti -tate and local levels. While all Michi- ganders today rcper Senate and Congressional choices, local voters will e decisions in such important races as sheriff, cou -,ro-ecutor, judgeship, county commit- sioner and drin commissioner. Very rarely does the K public fa e such n wide array sof races, candidates and , Voting is not a chore, but a constitutional, right many more wottkt he wi. e to ta ke advantage of. Visit the polls today and tnk n't in this vital primary vote. JAY L T' JIM TOBIN fuioilDireeto t , ".AINli -1 r ANN MARIE LIPINSKI SEditors JE ' 1 tsr . . Arts Editor " OIs .01t OVH . .. .... .........Night Editor GEOROE .LOBENZ . . . Night Editor MIKE NORTON Night Editor PHILLIP BOKOVOY Assistant Night Editor pInrefer wthosWho ca ' bck . not LANI .ORDAN Assistant Night EditortL STU McCONNELL Assistant Night Editor as messy!' JENNY MILEOR Assistant Night Editor BARR /AH Assistant Night Editor Mailbag: On candidates, clericals tenant issues To The Daily: While not er.dorsing any can- didate for today's primary elec- tion, the Ann Arbor Tenants Union Committee for Political Devetlopment is offering an evalittion of the candidates for prosecwtin attorney and sheriff which it believes will enable tenant voters to understand the candidates, and the nature of the partiCular off ie. We will be providing a more complete eval- nation before the November elections. Gearge Steel, mne of the two candidates on the 1emocratic ticket for prosecuting attorney, was the only candidate who re- qiested a chance to speak be- fore a Tenants Union meeting. steeh's campaign progrant, as well as his record, show him to be an ally of teiasnts. While heading the constumer affairs dis ision of the prosecutors of- fice in Genesee Ct'unty, Steh spearheaded a dri e which ob- tained over one million dollars for cons'imers. LIIKE HIS OPPONENT, Ron- aId Keys, Steeh helieves that the prosecuttion of violent crim- es would be the top priority. They both believe that the pres- ent Reptblican administration is spending too much time on drug related and other nonvio- lent crimes. They also contend that the present prosecutor seeks publicity, not convictions. Therefore, we find- it significant that Steeh, would also make the prosecution of white collar crime a top priority. Steen has already prosecuted landlords for illegal price list- ings on rental units, and taken action on fraudulent home im- provement schemes, nursing home abuses, and false adver- tising practices. On the other hand, while Keys told the TU in private conversation that con- sumer affairs would be one of his top priorities, he did not talk about this at all during the candidates night sponsored by the League of Women's Vot- ers. In the race for sheriff, we find that the incumbent Sheriff Frederick sPostill, is the most syimpathetic to tenant causes. None of the other candidates, RLepuiblican or Denodat, have said anything about the itnport- ant issues facing tenants. Pos- till has told us that under his administration, the Sheriff's De- partment, which is responsible for evictions, makes every. ef- fort to see that the tenant is not thrown into the street, and that on the contrary, an effort. is made to find another place for the tenant in question. THE TENANTS UNION feels that most "legal" evictions are tnjitst, bit if they do occur, they should be carried outswith all doe consideration for the tenamnts. All the other candidates, in osir opinion, are running to overturn whatever efforts Sher- iff Postill has made to intro- duce progressive reforms into the Sheriff's Department. They are traditional and conservative police officers, who have one year of experience several times over. While we do not know the particulars of the brawl in- cident involving Sheriff Postill, we believe that it has been blown out of proportion to smear Postill politically. We hope this evaluation has proved helpful and we would like to remind tenants that they- are a majority in Ann Arbor, and that any candidate who does not confront tenant issues and actively seek the support of tenants should be taken to task. The Ann Arbor Tenants Union Committee for Political Development Aug. 2 clerks and drains To The Daily: Saturday's election edition was excellent. However, two of the races that you did not cover merit attention. The County Clerk is respon- sible for a staff of 30, and a half-million dollar budget. The three Democratic contenders for this position are Rose Mel- ton, William Gagnon, and Janet Klaver. Melton works for her father, bail bondsman Harold Moon, a former candidate for sheriff. Gagnon is a long-time Ypsilanti township official, Klaver is board chairwoman of the Summit Medical Center, which provides low-cost medi- cal care. (Since the County Clerk should be a non-p'litical position, Klaver seems like the best choice.) THE DRAIN Commissioner supervises the county's water resource planning and manage- ment, and there is a close three person Democratic contest; 1) Ronald Allen, plumber and chairman of the Ypsilanti T o w n s h i p Planning Com- mission, has been endorsed by the Southeast Michigan Build- ing and Trades Council; 2) Thomas Blessing is assistant director of the Ann Arbor Ecol- ogy Center, and was head of the research and planning divi- sion of the St. Paul, Minn., pollution control agency; 3) Thomas Bletcher; deputy drain commissioner since 1973, and Sierra Club member. (Bletcher has the edge in experience, Blessing has more 'environ- mentalist" credentials). Though the sheriff's race was discussed, I believe several points need amplification. The Daily stated that Democratic candidate Chuck Broderick's promise to hire Doug Harvey as undersheriff was a "despic- able suggestion." Those read- ers who do not know anything about Doug Harvey slhould talk to someone who lived here when that tyrant was Sheriff. As the Daily commented, "Sheriff Postill is the best thing to hap- pen to the department in years." I only hope that the trumped-up Chelsea' wedding incident will not keep people from voting for Postill, a man who has done so much to hu- manize the department. Gary Sanders Editor's note: In addition to the candidates Gary Sanders mentioned, Roy Deciert, a drain inspector in the drain of- fice, and land surveyor Howard Taft, are vying for the Repub- lican drain commissioner vote. Dechert is from Saline and Taft is from Ann Arbor. Current County Clerk Robert Harrison, a Republican, is running unop- posed for that position. Clericals To The Daily: Decertification is threatening the hopes and futures of 3000 women and men at the Univer- sity. If it succeeds, clericals will again be at the mercy of University management. Job security will be meaningless, and pay increases will be sub- ject to the xwhims of individ- ual bosses, departmental bud- gets and University fiscal poli- cy. Once again, promotions will be based on luck and looks in- stead of competence or senior- ity. The rights, and benefits that the union and contract have in- sured clericals are much too important to sacrifice to a group whose most effective argument for decertification is one of greed - "The union didn't give me enough". The answer to their argument is not to destroy the union, but to give it the strength to achieve in subse- quent contracts what the first one lacked. IN FACT, with its organiza- tional talents, this group could easily shape any future con- tract in any way they--desired - if they would work creative- ly instead of destructively, and if they would work for the good of 3000 men and women instead of in their own self interest. Furthermore, the decertifica- tion organizers could have ans- wered their own arguments against partisan fighting within the union with positive action to stabilize and strengthen the un- ion. But they haven't, and cler- icals are threatened with a re- turn to their position as the serfs of the University. Although I'm no longer em- ployed at the University, I still feel strongly about the struggle for equity and justice that union members are involved in. I ad- mire the spirit and sacrifice 4 those men and women who are struggling for a better working life. I hope that the ideals and determination that organized the union will reunite Univer- sity clericals against decertifi- cation and give them the strength to gain a better con- tract. Linda Hennessey July 28 Letters should be typed and limited to 400 words. The Daily reserves the right to edi eersor length and grammar.